05 Aug Fire in Australian Olympic Village
A small fire in the basement of the Australian team building at The Olympic Games athletes village prompted the evacuation of 100 team members.
The smell of smoke which filled the stairwells of the property was first noticed by the team’s medical staff and because an evacuation plan was quickly put into operation no injuries or casualties were reported.
‘’There has been a small fire in the basement of the team building in the Olympic Village. All athletes and staff were evacuated and are fine,’’ said the Australian Olympic Committee in a statement.
But two reasons for concern were expressed most specifically that the building’s fire alarm system had been ‘silenced’.
It was thought the fire was started by workers having a cigarette break and Australian chef de mission Kitty Chiller later told media there was a lot of rubbish around the site and that contractors were smoking despite the village being smoke-free.